Vacuum nozzle device

ABSTRACT

A manually operated vacuum device for withdrawing air from a package, and positioning the package for closing. The device has only 4 basic parts that may be disassembled and assembled by hand, a suction tube, a slide tube mounted on the suction tube for reciprocation thereon, a nozzle at the entrance to the slide tube and a valve means trapped between the nozzle and the suction tube for valving the device in response to reciprocation of the slide tube. A special nozzle is of shallow depth and has a closed end with ports entering from the side. Another special nozzle member has a sump in its tip and narrow slot openings entering into its vacuum evacuated bore.

eav ssg O Unlted States Patent 11 1 1111 3,823,750 Owen July 16, 1974VACUUM NOZZLE DEVICE 3,153,682 10/1964 Walker 239/601 x R 5 11.2 B X 1 1Inventor: Dave Owen, Spartanburg, 3:313:23? 1323 3253. 323/1 12 B3,511,020 5/1970 Kraft et al. 53/112 B [73] Asslgnee' Grace & Duncan3,527,018 9/1970 Jahnke 53/112 B [22] Filed: Feb. 8,1971 3,580,3005/1971 Dunn 141/86 X 2 I 1] Appl No 113,703 Primary Examiner-Houston S.Bell, 11.

Related U.S. Application Dat Assistant Examiner-Frederick R. Schmidt[62] Division ofSer. No. 844,883, July 25, 1969, Pat. No. Attorney, geor Firm-John ey; ll a D- 3,628,576. Lee, Jr.

[52] U.S. Cl. 141/65, 141/90 57 7 ABSTRACT [51] Int. Cl B65b 31/04 Amanually Operated vacuum device for withdrawing [58] Field of Search27/24, 24.1; 53/112 B;

l28/276 278 350' 137/533 l41/8 46 am from a package, and positionmg thepackage for 64 65 7 H5 closing. The device has only 4 basic .Parts thatmay be 367 7 disassembled and assembled by hand, a suction tube, a

596 slide tube mounted on the suction tube for'reciprocation thereon, anozzle at the entrance to the slide tube 5 6 R f Ct d and a valve meanstrapped between the nozzle and the 1 e erences e I suction tube forvalving the device in response to re- UNITED STATES PATENTS ciprocationof the slide tube. A special nozzle is of 1,048,316 12/1912' shallowdepth and has a closed end with ports entering ,571.76 0/1951 from theside. Another special nozzle member has a $614,563 10/ sump in its tipand narrow slot openings entering into 216381976 5/1953 its vacuumevacuated bore. 3,103,947 9/1963 3,109,426 11/1963 Noonan et al. 128/276X 2 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PAJENI JUL! slam SHEEI 1 BF 2 PAIENTEDJUL1 $1914 823,750

sum 2 0F 2 FIG. 6

1 VACUUM NOZZLE DEVICE This invention relates to an improved device forremoving air from a package. In another aspect, the invention relates toan improved vacuum packaging device. In a still further aspect, theinvention relates to the vacuum packaging of poultry or the like inflexible film bags.

It is known practice for processors of turkeys, chickens, and poultryproducts to individually vacuum pack each bird in a collapsible airtight bag which may be made of any suitable thermoplastic such asbiaxially oriented irradiated polyethylene. For simplicity, theinvention will be described with reference to the packaging of poultryor the like; however, the invention is broadly applicable to the removalof air from any collapsible material in which a product may be placed.

A process has heretofore been proposed wherein a nozzle (incommunication with a means for creating a vacuum) is inserted into thepackage to be vacuumized. After a sufficient period of time toeffectively remove the air from the package, the package is twisted soas to prevent entrance of air into the evacuated package and the twistedneck is then sealed by means such as clipping or heat sealing. In onepackaging method the bird is first placed in each bag in a substantiallyvertical position and disposed immediately below a fixed verticalnozzle. While theoperator holds the bagmouth over the nozzle, the air isexhausted from within the interior of the bag. I

,ln U.S. Pat. No. 3,312,256, issued to D. J. .Reisinger and assigned tothe same assignee as this application,

an improved mechanism is provided that lifts the bird and the bag offthe table during the package closing procedure. The patent illustrates avacuum actuated lifting mechanism supported above a packing table andcarrying an associated vacuum nozzle assembly. The arrangement is suchthat when a vacuum condition is established within the mechanism, thelatter will operate to raise the nozzle, and consequently the bird andbag, upwardly a sufficient distance above the table to permit theoperator to twist the bag aftera vacuum has been obtained in the bag.The bag is then removed from the nozzle and sealed. After the packagehas been vacuumized and sealed, it is subjected to a'heat shrinkingoperation so that the bag shrinks to form a skin tight package about thebird.

It is an object of this invention to provide a new and improvedapparatus for vacuum packaging.

and a nozzle connected to its lower end. A floating valve member isengaged between the nozzle and the suction conduit and clampedtherebetween when the slide is in its raised rest position, closing thevacuumizing apparatus. The valve floats between the nozzle and thesuction conduit when the handle is actuated by pulling against its bias.

In the preferred form of my improved vacuumizing apparatus the slide isbiased toward the upper end of the base suction conduit by a helicalspring that encircles the base suction conduit. The spring is held inits functional position between the base suction conduit Still anotherobject of the invention is to provide such apparatus having a minimalnumber of parts that can be easily disassembled for cleaning andreassembled with unskilled labor.

It is another object of the invention to'provide a new and improveddrip-free nozzle for a vacuum packaging device.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a,

dripfree vacuum packaging device.

wholly around the base suction conduit and the spring retaining seat isformedby part of an offset in the axial bore that extends axiallythrough the slide. This offset is formed between anupper region of theslide that fits close to the base suction conduit and an intermediate,enlarged region, fitting radially over the helical spring.

This intermediate region has an inside radius smaller than the outsideradius of the split-ring and therefore can not pass over the split ring.Part of the offset forms the stop that engages the upper surface of thesplit ring to stop the actuation stroke of the apparatus.

. To form a'seal between the slide and the base suction conduit, a sealextends around the base suction conduit. The seal is seated in a sealseat formed in the outer surface of the base suction conduit. The sealprojects beyond the adjacent outer surface of the base suction conduitand is engaged against the inside surface'of the upper region of theslide to form the seal.

A lower region of the axial bore in the slide is e n larged further thanthe region overlying the helical spring and encircles the split-ring andengages the splitrings outer surface for guided reciprocation thereon.The terminal end of the bore in the slide tube has a threaded regionwhich engages a mating threaded region on the outer surface of a nozzleto secure the nozzle in the vacuumizing apparatus.

A floating valve member is engaged between the nozzle and the lower endof'the base suction conduit. The floating valve has a rounded headpositioned below the base suction conduit. The head is larger than theinside of the lower end of the base suction conduit so that it ismaintained outside of the base suction tube and can not pass into it. Astem on the floating valve member extends from the rounded head and isengaged in the channel of the base suction conduit and holds the valvemember in alignment and in and below the base suction conduit. Aplurality of channels formed in the valve member provide passageways forthe flow of air between the valve member and the lower end of the basesuction conduit and up through the conduit. The channels pass from belowthe lower end of the base suction tube to above the lower end of thebasesuction tube. The nozzle has an upwardly directed beveled region on itsinside surface at its upper end, thatis engaged by the rounded head ofthe floating valve when the spring is expanded to clamp the valve memberbetween the nozzle and thebase suction conduit to shut off the vacuumnozzle.

The vacuumizing apparatus desirably is mounted by a mounting meanshaving a quick connect line coupling that connects the upper end of thebase suction conduit with a stiff flexible tube. The stiff flexible tubeextends above the quick connect line coupling and is equipped for directconnection to a suspending supporting means. The stiff flexible tubingsupplies the pivoting characteristics needed in the usual case to enablea product being vacuumized to be slipped into the jaws of a clipper orother sealing means without the necessity of withdrawing the vacuumforce from the package.

A new dripless vacuum nozzle also forms an important aspect of myinvention. This nozzle has a closed tip with a sump in the tip and atleast one narrow slot opening above the sump. The nozzle has the outerconfiguration of a cylinder with a rounded point at its outer closedtip, the insideof the nozzle is a cylindrical bore penetrating axiallybelow the ports to form the sump. A threaded area is formed on theinside of the nozzle at its upper end above the ports and these threadsare meshed with the threads on the nozzle tube securing the nozzle tothe nozzle tube. This nozzle is a species of the nozzle claimed in acopending application of William H. Dunn, Jr., filed on even date withthis application entitled Vacuum Apparatus and Snorkel Nozzle andassigned to the same assignee as this application.

gion and a second disc shaped region. The second disc shaped region issmaller than the first disc shaped region, projects from the first discshaped region and is centered with respect thereto-A bore is formed inthe nozzle and extends through the first disc shaped region and into thesecond disc shaped region perpendicularly to the radius lines of thedisc. The bore terminates in a tapered point in the second disc shapedregion. A plurality of ports enter the nozzle from the outercircumference thereof and intersect the bore. The ports enter the nozzleat the jucture between the first and the second disc region,intersecting both of said discs. The ports extend across the face of thefirst disc shaped region as a trough beyond the second disc shapedregion. The ports radiate from the bore at a right angle thereto andintersect the bore in the bore region restricted to the tapered area ofthe bore. A third disc shaped region projects from the right disc shapedregion opposite the second disc shaped region and is centered withrespect to both the first and second disc shaped regions. Threads areformed on the outer circumferential edge of the third disc for mountingthe disc.

FIG. 1 is an elevational. view showing the vacuum nozzle assembly with apackage engaged thereon and twisted and in phantom lines the device isshown with its flexible connection flexed to position the twisted neckof the bag in the throat of a clipper.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial vertical section of the nozzle assembly.

FIG. 3 is a view of an alternate nozzle.

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the vacuum nozzle assembly of FIG. 2 withphantom lines depicting the order of assembly.

FIG. 5 is a view of the alternate nozzle'of FIG. 1 shown in position forsubstitution in the assembly of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a partial vertical section showing a portion of the assemblyof FIG. 2 with the alternate nozzle substituted in the assembly.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of one side of an auxiliary disassembly tool.

FIG. 8 is a side elevation of a different nozzle.

FIG. 9 is a vertical section through the nozzle of FIG. 8.

Referring now to FIG. 1, an embodiment of my invention is showncomprising a packing table 10, a support assembly 11 and a vacuumizingapparatus or device 12. The vacuumizing device 12 is connected to thesupport assembly 11 by a mounting means 9 that in- 'cludes a stiffflexible tubing 13. The vacuumizing device 12 has a conduit 14 that isconnected to a means (not shown) for withdrawing air therethrough. Thevacuumizing device 12 has a snorkel nozzle 15 that is in communicationthrough the device 12 and its con duit 14 with the means for withdrawingair or pulling the vacuum. The operating handle 16 actuates the deviceto open the device for withdrawing air from a region such as aregionenclosed by a bag 20.

In operation, the operator places the item to be packaged such as a bird21 (for example, a chicken, whole and dressed) on the table 10, insertsthe bird into the heat shrinkable plastic bag 20 in such a manner thatthe snorkel 15 can be inserted into the birds body cavity. With the endof the bag 20 and the enclosed bird 2] resting on table 10, the operatorinserts the snorkel into the bird s body cavity and lifts the loaded badupwardly gathering the open end of the bag around the lower portion ofthe device 12, gripping the film of the bag 20 tightly about the handle16. The handle 16 is actuated and a vacuum is drawn through the snorkel15 as hereinafter described in greater detail to evacuate the cavity ofthe bird and the bag 20. After the bag has been evacuated the operatorslides the bag down as desired to provide a clearance between the birdand the tip of the snorkel while simultaneously rotating the bag totwist the bags neck and close the vacuumized bag. The device 12 is atthe same time swung on the tubing 13 to position the twisted neckportion of thebag in a clipper 22 (only the jaws of which are shown inphantom lines) and a clip is applied to the twisted neck to retain thevacuum. A suitable clipper is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,383,746 issued toNarduzzi, Wing and Forte and assigned to the same assignee as thisapplication. The clipper would be'mounted to one side of the table 10 ata height disposing its throat within the pivot arc of the bags neck. Theclippers throat should, of course, be oriented for easy entrance of theneck of the bag in a manner such as is shown in phantom lines in FIG. 1.Of course, other securing means could be employed to secure the bagsneck.

Referring now to FIG. 4, an exploded view representing the assemblyarrangement of my device 12 is shown. The base component is an axialcylindrical suction conduit or tubular member 23 which is hollowthroughout its length and has an O-ring seat 24 formed radially in itsouter surface and a split-ring seat 25 formed radially in its outersurface at its lower end 26. The vacuum conduit 14 intersects thechannel or bore 30 of the tube 23 between'the O-ring seat 24 and theupper end 31 of the tube 23. The upper end 31 of the tube has threads 32formed on the outer surface thereof radially therearound. An O-ring 33is provided and sized so that in assembling the device, it may heslipped over the lower end 26 of the tube and seated in the O-ring seat24. The O-ring projects radially outward beyond the outer circumferenceof the tube 23 when it is seated in the Oring seat 24. An axial slidetube 34 is sized so that it may be slipped onto the tube 23 with thetube 23 passing through the throat 35 into the axial slide tube channelor bore 36. The outer surface of the slide tube is formed into the handgrip 16.

A helical spring 40 fits in the enlarged channel portions 41 (FIG. 2) ofthe slide tube 34 and around the axial suction tube 23. The split-ringor collar 42 is positioned in the split-ring seat 25 and held inposition by the slide tube 34 which overlies it securing it on the seatFloating valve member 43 is positioned with stem 44 in channel 30 at theend 26 of the suction tube 23. The rounded head 45 is sized so that itwill not fit into the channel 30. Therefore the floating valve member 43is retained at the lower end 26 of the suction tube 23. A plurality ofchannels 46 are formed in the valve member 43 to provide a passagewayfor the flow of air between the valve member and the lower end 26'of thesuction tube 23. A plurality of ridges 47 separate the channels 46 (FIG.2) from one another and engage the walls of the bore 30 to stabilize thestem 44 therein.

The entrance to the channel 30 at the lower end 26 of the suction tube23 has a beveled entrance surface 50 that reduces the wear on thefloating valve where it engages with the lower end 26 and enables theball to seat properly and maintain its alignment capability over a longlife.

The slide tube 34 extends below the end 26 of the suction tube 23 andthe threads 51 on the outer surface of the nozzle are mated with thethreaded region 52 at the terminal end 53 of the bore 36 in the slidetube 34. It will be seen that the upper region 54 of the slide tube 34extends radially about and fits close to the base suction tube 23 andsealingly engages the O-ring for reciprocation thereon. The intermediateenlarged region 41 overlies helical spring 40 and the offset 55 betweenthe upper region 54 and the enlarged region 51 forms a seat engaging theupper end of spring 56. Offset 55 is beveled or tapered to prevent itfrom damaging the O-ring during'assembly. The lower end 57 of the spring40 is engaged against the upper surface or end 60 of the split-ring,which forms the opposed spring'seat, the spring being held incompression between the offset seat 55 and the opposed spring seat 60and being further compressible upon actuation of the handle 16. A lowerfurther enlarged region 61 of the bore 36 overlies and is in guidingengagement with the outer surface of the split-ring which it encirclesand is in guided engagement therewith for reciprocation thereon. Theoffset 59 between region 41 of the bore and enlarged region 61 serves asthe slide stop by engaging the upper surface 60 of thesplit-ring 42.

The nozzle has an upwardly directed beveled valve seat 63 which is heldbiased against the rounded head In the usually preferred form of mynozzle, as shown in FlGS. 2 and 4, the threads 51 are formed on amounting collar 64 which collar has a flange 65 at its lower end 66, theupper side 67 of the flange 65 is engaged against the lower end 37 ofthe slide tube 34 when the nozzle is secured in position. A nozzle tube70 is inserted through the collar 64 and welded therein. The nozzle tube70 has a male threaded region 71 on its outer surface at its lower end72. A nozzle tip or nozzle member 73 is mated with the lower end 72 ofthe nozzle The nozzle tip 73 has a bore 74 extending into its upper end69 with threads 75 formed at the entrance end of the bore. The threads75 are mated with the male threaded region 71 on the end of the nozzletube 70. A plurality of ports 76 enter into the bore 74 from theexterior of the nozzle tip. A sump region 77 is formed by the lower endof the bore 74 which extends below the ports 76 in the lower end 80 ofthe nozzle tip 73. The tip 81 of the nozzle tip 73 is rounded for easyinsertion into the bag 20 and into the products within the bag 20. i

An alternate nozzle 82 is shown in FIGS. 3, 5 and 6 and it has athreaded region 83 and a flange region 84 that operate identically withthe equivalent parts in the nozzle 15. The collar region is formeddirectly as a part of the nozzle itself and ports 85 are formed in itsouter face 86 and pass under what is in effect a face plate portion 89to allow easy passage of air from the sides of the nozzle into thenozzle. The ports 85 project beyond the face plate portion 89 in theface 86 as troughs 79. The nozzle passageways 85 feed into the nozzlebore 87. The face plate portion 89 prevents any solids, particularlysoft solids like fat, from being forced into the nozzle in a glob shouldthe nozzle be pressed directly against such materials as would be thecase if the bore 87 opened directly out through the face of the nozzle.As may be seen in FIG. 6, when assembled, the parts mate identically asthose previously described with respect to the nozzle 15. The alternatenozzle has a beveled region 88 which is the equivalent of the beveledregion 63 of the previously described nozzle 15. The nozzle 82 producedfor commercial use has circular ports 85 that have a diameter of 1/8inch.

Another way to describe the nozzle would be as three discs, a first discshaped region 84 which would be the flange, a second and smaller discshaped region 89 which would be the face plate portion and a third discshaped region 78 which projects from the first disc shaped region 84 andis opposite disc shaped region 89 and is also smaller than disc shapedregion 84 and has threads 83 formed thereon. The ports 85 enter the noz=zle at the juncture between the first and second disc re gions 84 and 89and intersect the bore 87 in the bore region restricted to the taperedarea of the bore. While a symetrical and even disc shape is preferredany generally disc shape is operable. For example, one or more of thedisc shaped regions could have the edges shaped as an octagon, mostlikely with the outwardly facing edges beveled so that they would notbesharp. Other shapes could also be imparted to the disc regionsparticularly to attempt to avoid a narrow reading of the claims. Thus itis to be understood that, as used herein generally disc shaped regionincludes all varient shapes, such as octagonal for example, that arebasically circular rather than basically square.

The mounting means for the device 12 also serves as the means forpermitting the device to be pivoted. The

mounting means 9 has a quick connect line coupling 90 that has a malemember 91 and a female member 92, FIGS. 1, 2 and 4. The female member 92has a lower female threaded region (threads not shown) at the lower end93 of part 92 which mates withthe threads 32 on the upper end of thesuction tube 23. The male member 91 of the quick connect line coupling90 is shown in FIG. 2 to be plugged with a plug 94. The upper end of themale member 91 has a male threaded region 95.

The stiff flexible tube 13 has one end engaged over the upper malethreaded region 95 of the male quick connect line coupling member 91. Afirst hose clamp 97 encircles the stiff flexible tube over the malethreaded region or the upwardly extending male extension 95 of the quickconnect line coupling member 91 and is tightened to secure the tubing onthe upwardly extending male extension 95. A tube adaptor 98 has a maletube engaging extension tube adaptor 98 by hose clamp 99 in the samemanner described with respect to hose clamp 97 and upwardly extendingmale extension 95. An adaptor 100 is threadibly engaged with the tubeadaptor 98 and with the support assembly 11 as may be seen in FIG. 1.

A tool for removing the nozzle 82 should it be over tightened is shownin FIG. 7. It may be seen thatthe tool llhas a handle portion 102 andtwo pins 103 at one end with an are cut out 104 formed therein. The endof the handle with the pins 103 fitting into troughs slots 79 on eachside of the face plate 109 with the pins engaging the troughs so thatthe handle may be turned while the slide tube 34 is held stationary toscrew the nozzle tip out of mating engagement with the slide tube 34. Itis usually necessary only to hand tighten the nozzle tip with thefingers. Usually the tip can also be removed without the aid of anytools. The nozzle 15 has sufficient means to it so that it is moreeasily gripped by the nozzle tube 70 for manual removal by twisting todislodge if from threaded engagement in the sleeve 34. However, theother end of the tool 101 has a, pin I05 therein and should the nozzletip 73 become too tight to remove by gripping it manually, the pin 104may be inserted in a port 76 with the nozzles curved outer surfaceresting against the curvature 106 of the tool 105. The handle can thenbe turned like a crank to unscrew the nozzle 73.

The assembly of the parts will now be briefly explained with particularrelation to their assembly and disassembly in the plant for cleaning,sanitation and maintenance. To assemble the vacuumizing apparatus, thebase suction tube 23 is grasped and held with the lower end 26 turnedupwardly and the O-ring 33 is slipped over the lower end 26 and intoO-ring seat 24. Next the slide tube 34 is inserted over the lower end 26of the suction tube 23 and pushed well down on the suction tube so thatit is clear of the split-ring seat 25. Next the helical spring 40 isslipped over the end 26 of the suction tube 23 and down into the slidesbore 36. Then the split-ring 42 is positioned in the split-ring seat 25and the stem 44 of the floating valve member 43 is positioned in thebore 30 of the suction tube 23. Then while holding the split-ring inposition the slide tube 34 is slipped upward, pressing the spring 40against the split-ring 42. The slide tube is advanced until its threadedregion 52 is beyond the end of the suction tube 23 at which time thenozzle is secured in position 8 with thread 51 mating with threads 52thus securing all of the parts in-position.

Quick connect line coupling piece 92 once assembled on the suction tube23 remains thereon during routine cleaning and sanitation maintenance.To assemble the quick connect line coupling piece 92 on suction tube 23,the coupling piece 92 is screwed onto the threaded end 31 of the suctiontube 23. This may be done conveniently before beginning the previouslydescribed assembly operations or after they have been completed. If thenozzle 15 is to be used, the nozzle tip 73 may be secured onto thenozzle tube either before or after the nozzle is securedto the slidetube 34. Of course, the device 12 is secured to its mounting means 9through the coupling of the quick connect line clamp 90.

To disassemble the device quick for cleaning it is only necessary todisconnect the quicl connect line coupling to remove the vacuumizingapparatus for a thorough cleaning..These are the only parts of theapparatus that are exposed to fluid materials coming through the devicewith the withdrawn air. The fluid material is normally made up largelyof the body fluids from the birds being packaged. Once the quickconnectline coupling has been uncoupled, the parts will come apart in thereverse order from which they were assembled and may be readily cleanedwith a cleaning solution and a brush.

In the usual packing house procedure, when poultry is being packaged, itis the practice to disassemble the vacuumizing apparatus at the end ofeach days packaging and frequently more often as required by governingregulations. All the parts may be separated in substantially the reverseorder of that described for their assembly. It may be seen that this isusually entirely a hand operation, no tools being necessary. Oneexception to this is when disassembling the nozzle 82 when the tool 101may be needed as previously described. Ordinarily it would not benecessary to remove the O- ring 33 from its seat, but only to scrub pastit with a cleaning brush, twisting the brush as it passes. However, theO-ring can easily be removed when desired.

While my invention is notlimited to the use of specific materials in itsconstruction, I have found the following materials to be optimumparticularly when the device is to be used in its preferred application,to package poultry. The O-ring is made of food-approved nitrile rubber,the stiff tubing is made of a stiff clear vinyl plastic so that it maybe inspected interiorly from the outside. The hose clamps are made ofaluminum and all of the adaptors and the other parts are made ofstainless stell type 303 or 304. The valve member is made of Delrin(Reg. T.M.).

Turning now to a more detailed description of the operation of mydevice. After the device has been mounted on the support assembly 11 andstarting from the rest position which is shown in solid lines in FIG. 1,the slide tube 34 is held in the raised position on the suction ube 23by the spring 40. The beveled upwardly directed valve off seat 63 isthereby held in firm engagement with the rounded head of the floatingvalve member 43 closing the nozzle.

The operator takes a bag containing a product, such as is shown in FIG.1, places the bag on the table 10 and pulls the bags open mouth uparound and over the handle l6 inserting the nozzle tip 73 into the birdscavity by manipulating the bird (such as a small Cornish hen) to aposition standing on end and lifting the bird slightly above the surfaceof the table. All of this is done in one quick motion during which timethere is no vacuum on the nozzle tip. The operator will then pull downon the handle 16 while gripping the bags neck tightly gathered abouthandle 16 with one hand. The handle 16 is pulled down until the upwardlydirected beveled valve seat 63 is no longer engaged with the roundedhead 45 of the floating valve member 43. The offset 59 provides the stopto the downward movement of the handle 16 when it engages the uppersurface 60 of the split-ring 42. The length of stroke in the actualdevice made is 1/4 inch. This stroke opens the valve and connects thevacuum at the vacuum conduit14 through the interior of the suction tube23 with the nozzle 15 which opens throughthe nozzle tip 73 to the insideof the bird 21 through ports 76. The vacuum draws air out of the bird'sbody cavity and out of the bag itself, which is open to the inside ofthe bag, up through the open, connected vacuum channel. This collapsesthe bag tightly about the bird. The operator maintains a down pressureon the handle 16 and pivots the apparatus by' swinging it outwardly onthe tube 13 while at the same time slipping the bag downwardly bysliding it down the nozzle tube until it is in the position shown inphantom lines in FIG. 1, and positions the bag in the jaws 22 of theclipper for closing the bag and sealing it air tight. In this way thevacuum is allowed to continue to operate until the actual clippingoccurs, at which time the handle is released and the spring returns theslide tube to its upper position closing the valve. A clip is appliedsealing the bag and in the usual case, the bags neck is severed justabove the clip by a knife in the clipping apparatus. The severed bag isgenerally allowed to falla few inches to a moving conveyor (not shown)positioned below the clippers throat 22. The conveyor transfers thebagged product to the next operation, for example to a shrink tunnel(not shown). The remaining bag portion is removed from the device by theoperator releasing his grip on the tube 70. The spring 40 then returnsthe slide tube to its upper position engaging the upwardly directedvalve seat against the floating valve member 43 shutting off the vacuum.The. apparatus, of course, also swings back to its starting positionperpendicular to table 10.

If it is not desired to have the longer snorkel nozzle 15, of course,the nozzle 82 may be substituted therefor, and this is often desirabledepending on the product being packaged. The long nozzle, however, isuseful for packaging other products than birds, for example: meat loafand corned beef, in which case the nozzle is inserted down along sidethe meat in a tubular bag and the air is withdrawn as the nozzle isallowed to slip out of the bag. This prevents the bag from collapsingagainst the meat part way up, which would prevent the removal of air inthe bottom of the bag. In all other respects the process is the same asthat previously described with respect to'packagingbirds.

A special nozzle tip 120 is shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. This nozzle can beused for a prolonged uninterrupted period of packaging products, such ascorned beef which have loose unground spice on its outer surface. Cornedbeef is usually packaged in a sleeve type bag. Thus the special nozzletip is substituted in nozzle 15 and inserted between the bag and thecorned beef. The nozzle is projected into the bag all the way to thebags bottom to assure good evacuation of the bag. As the nozzle iswithdrawn from the bag it scraped along between the corned beef and thebag. The device is, of course, also being pivoted as the nozzle iswithdrawn to position the bags neck in the clipper as previouslydescribed with respect to packaging a bird. The special nozzle has aplurality of slots 121, each of which is long and narrow. The ends 122and 123 of the slots may ficiency. For other special or generalapplications sloted nozzle tips having slots larger or smaller than 1 32inch may be used. The use of slot ports rather than rounded ports isparticularly valuable when hard roundish particles that could be wedgedin the rounded ports are going to been countered during the nozzle use.Slot ports have been found to have the facility of cleaning themselvesunder such conditions when used according to the general packagingprocedures described in this patent application. Perhaps this is in partdue to the bag material scraping passed the slot ports as the nozzle iswithdrawn from the bag while its mouth is gripped tightly against thenozzle to maintain the vacuum prior -to clipping. Rather than just beingpushed into the ports and more tightly wedged therein particles lodgingin the ports may be scraped upwardly and then rolled or slipped out ofthe slots on the inclined ends.

The nozzle tip produced for commercial use in 1 /2 inches long and 11/16 inches in diameter to its outside circumference the bore is 17/32inches in diameter. Eight slots are spaced evenly around the nozzle tipand a sump is provided in the tip to prevent drip-back from one packageto the next during packaging. The only difference between the nozzle tip120 and 73 is the subwould have to be hollow. This is generally not avery desirable arrangement because of the difficulty encountered incleaning'the fluid materials from the evacuation line particularly thenumerous junctures in mounting means 9..and the curved stand 11.However, some packing houses are equipped with such a stand evacuationarrangement and my device is adaptable for use therewith.

I claim:

1. In a vacuumizing apparatus a dripless nozzle normally used in avertical position comprisingan elongated hollow cylindrical chamberhaving one rounded closed end to provide a sump and an upper end adaptedto be secured to a vacuumizing apparatus, a hollow cylindrical tubeinterior of and coaxial with said cylindrical chamber and having an openend which terminates in the lower portion of the closed end of thechamber and whose upper end is in communication with said vacuumizingapparatus, and a plurality of elongated slots in the wall of saidcylindrical chamber extending from above the open end of said tube to anupper region of said chamber, said slots having inclined end portionswhich are wider at the outside of the chamber wall than at the inside ofthe chamber wall to facilitate self cleaning of foreign particlestrapped within said slot.

2. In a vacuumizing apparatus, a nozzle comprising a first generallydisc shaped region and a second generally disc shaped region, saidsecond region being smaller than said first region, projecting from saidfirst region and centered with respect thereto; a bore formed in saidnozzle and extending through said first region and extending into saidsecond region perpendicularly to the radius lines of said disc shaped;said bore terminating in a tapered well portion in said second region; aplurality of ports entering said nozzle from the outer circumferencethereof and radiating inwardly to intersect said bore in the taperedwell portion, entering said nozzle at the juncture between said firstand said second regions and intersecting both of said first and secondregions, said ports extending across the face of said first region as atrough beyond said second region.

1. In a vacuumizing apparatus a dripless nozzle normally used in avertical position compRising an elongated hollow cylindrical chamberhaving one rounded closed end to provide a sump and an upper end adaptedto be secured to a vacuumizing apparatus, a hollow cylindrical tubeinterior of and coaxial with said cylindrical chamber and having an openend which terminates in the lower portion of the closed end of thechamber and whose upper end is in communication with said vacuumizingapparatus, and a plurality of elongated slots in the wall of saidcylindrical chamber extending from above the open end of said tube to anupper region of said chamber, said slots having inclined end portionswhich are wider at the outside of the chamber wall than at the inside ofthe chamber wall to facilitate self cleaning of foreign particlestrapped within said slot.
 2. In a vacuumizing apparatus, a nozzlecomprising a first generally disc shaped region and a second generallydisc shaped region, said second region being smaller than said firstregion, projecting from said first region and centered with respectthereto; a bore formed in said nozzle and extending through said firstregion and extending into said second region perpendicularly to theradius lines of said disc shaped; said bore terminating in a taperedwell portion in said second region; a plurality of ports entering saidnozzle from the outer circumference thereof and radiating inwardly tointersect said bore in the tapered well portion, entering said nozzle atthe juncture between said first and said second regions and intersectingboth of said first and second regions, said ports extending across theface of said first region as a trough beyond said second region.